1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to overheated steam ovens and, more particularly, to an overheated steam oven designed for home use by simplifying a construction and reducing a size of the overheated steam oven.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, cooking using overheated steam is a method in which overheated steam is discharged into a cooking cavity. Since cooking using overheated steam evenly heats foods, the foods may not be partially burned, and a cooking temperature is easily controlled by controlling an amount of discharged overheated steam. Also, since oxidation of foods does not occur, cooking using the overheated steam enhances the flavor of cooked foods.
However, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Heisei. 6-090677 and No. 2000-041852, conventional cooking apparatuses using the overheated steam include a cooking cavity to contain foods therein, a steam boiler to generate the overheated steam, a water tank to supply water into the steam boiler, and a plurality of steam pipes to discharge the overheated steam generated by the steam boiler into the cooking cavity. The construction of the cooking apparatuses is complex and the size and costs of the cooking apparatuses are increased. Accordingly, the conventional cooking apparatuses using the overheated steam are difficult to use at home due to the complex construction and the large size of the cooking apparatuses even though the cooking apparatuses are convenient for business purposes. Also, in the conventional overheated steam cooking apparatuses, the overheated steam generated by the steam boiler is discharged into the cooking cavity through the steam pipes, so that the cooking apparatuses are problematic in that heat loss increases due to use of the steam pipes.
Furthermore, in the conventional cooking apparatuses, the overheated steam used in cooking the foods is a temperature of approximately 100°˜350°. Thus, the overheated steam may burn a user, or thermally deteriorate and damage items nearby the cooking apparatus, since the overheated steam is directly discharged to an outside after a cooking operation. To solve the above problems, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Heisei. 8-128639 proposed a cooking apparatus which discharges the overheated steam after combining the overheated steam with outside air in the cooking apparatus to reduce the temperature of the overheated steam. However, the above-mentioned conventional cooking apparatus requires an additional air duct and blower to draw the outside air into the cooking apparatus. Therefore, the conventional cooking apparatus is problematic in that the cooking apparatus increases a size thereof, which generates noise due to the blower.